Internet TV is coming to a TV set near you. In a way, it's already hit your Mac, in the form of YouTube, iTunes, and other online videos. The folks at Joost are hoping to lead the Internet TV charge by making the experience more like your typical TV experience, with networks and channels. The Joost software turns you Mac into an Internet TV.

 

Joost was founded by the same guys who created Skype and KaZaa, so maybe you've already heard the buzz about Joost on the Web. Back in February, Joost made its Mac beta available to a limited number of beta users. I wasn't able to get in on that first beta release. But I was able to try out the latest Joost beta yesterday, and I played with it all night. Here's a look at Joost 0.9.1.

 

Joost requires an Intel Mac.

 

The software is 40MB. The Joost beta works only on Intel Macs with Mac OS 10.4 or later. I installed Joost on a black 2GHz Intel Core Duo MacBook with 2GB of RAM with a WiFi connection to my cable Internet.

 

Joost welcome screen.

 

You have to have an account on Joost, which you create when you first run the software. Joost then runs an introductory video, which often lagged. But I didn't have to futz with Internet settings or adjust my screen resolution - I just double clicked the Joost icon, and it worked.

 

Next: The Joost TV experience

 

 

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The Joost TV experience: Joost's main interface is easy to use, and disappears when you start a show. A bottom box includes the player controls and channel catalog controls.

 

Joost's main control screen.

 

A My Channels icon on the left takes you to a list of your favorite channels.

 

Joost's My Channels screen.

 

The Channel Catalog lets you explore new channels. I counted 74 channels in all, most of them music video channels. There are a handful of "brand name" networks, such as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central. They don't offer their full schedule of shows, however. For example, Nickelodeon offers only a limited catalog of Ren and Stimpy shows.

 

Joost's Channel Catalog.

 

Next: Show variety and image quality

 

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Show variety and image quality: You've probably never heard of most of the "networks" on Joost. The Fight Network is sure to be a favorite of Eugene. Are you ready to go all in on Poker Heaven.TV? The Boom Chicago channel (based in Amsterdam, not in Chicago) will appeal to anyone who's a fan of sketch comedy. There's also the Much Hot & Wet channel, which features...well, you can figure it out. I admit, I lost 60 seconds of my life watching a MH&W show that featured swimsuit-clad men and women in an ice cream eating contest.

 

Internet TV is the the new "boob tube."

 

Notice the image quality - yuck. The image quality throughout Joost varies. According to the Joost Web site, videos are encoded using CoreCodec's CoreAVC H.264 encoder, though it seems video is encoded at different image quality settings. Here's a shot below of "Stella," a show on Comedy Central. Better than MH&W, but still quite pixelated.

 

I'm singing in the jaggies, just singing in the jaggies.

 

Here's a shot below of MTV's "Laguna Beach." That's near TV quality.

 

Lookin' good.

 

The introductory video logo to National Geographic's "Last Stand of The Great Bear" was a pixelated mess. But the actual show below was visually pleasing. Too bad it lagged like crazy.

 

This would make a nice desktop image.

 

Next: Joost widgets, and conclusions

 

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Joost widgets, and conclusions: On the main screen, there's a My Joost icon on the right. Click it, and you open a Dashboard-like window. Joost offers widget applications, such as News Ticker, Rate It, and a widget for inviting friends to Joost. Each channel has a chat room, that you can enter via the Channel Chat widget. Joost says you'll be able to create your own widgets.

 

Joost widgets.

 

Thoughts on Joost: Overall, Joost worked well. It has great potential for watching TV on your Mac. But I took a different angle with Joost, comparing it with a typical TV viewing experience - sitting on a couch in a living room, versus at a desk in front of a Mac. A few thoughts on Joost and in general, Internet TV.

 

• There's too much disruptive network lag. It's barely noticeable when sifting through the show listing, but it's there when you watch a show. Joost does streaming video over the Internet, so the faster your connection, the better.

• Joost has built in Apple Remote support. This is great for that living room experience. It worked well for me.
• Apple TV lacks any Internet video features, other than iTunes content. There have been reports of the Apple TV being hacked so it can run Joost, but why should we have to resort to hacking? Joost is what Apple TV needs.

• CoreCodec also makes streaming tools for mobile devices, so we could see Joost on mobile phones and other devices.

• The content possibilities might be the most exciting part about Internet TV. Small productions are no longer relegated to the local access channels on cable TV. Anyone can create a new "network" on the Internet and get immediate distribution. Sure, there will be a lot of crap being published, but a lot of good stuff, too, that could never get on to traditional TV. And the crap will eventually disappear as people ignore it.

 

Joost is free, and the company plans on making money via ads. Ads do show up and you can't skip them, but they're short. A Power PC version is in the works, though there's no word on when a beta will be available. You can sign up for the Joost beta at Joost's Web site.